The national women's football team will play two friendly matches in August against Chinese Taipei to prepare for their second round of Olympic qualifiers.

The games will take place in Hanoi on August 1 and 4.

Coach Norimatsu Takashi plans to call up 28 players for his squad.

Chinese Taipei are in Group A with Vietnam, along with Thailand, Jordan and hosts Myanmar.

After the friendlies, Vietnam will travel to Japan for a training course in September.

Binh Duong kicks off international billiards tourney

The 4th BTV-Becamex IJD International Three-cushion Billiards Carom Tournament kicked off in the southern province of Binh Duong on July 24.

According to the organiser, 64 domestic and international players are participating in the event.

Leading Vietnamese players, such as Duong Anh Vu, Ngo Dinh Nai, Ly The Vinh, Truong Quang Hao and Ma Xuan Cuong , will complete against some of the world’s biggest names: Cho Jea Ho - the Republic of Korea’s (RoK) winner at the World Cup in Turkey in February 2014 and Kang Dong Koong – the RoK’s World Cup champion in 2013, who ranks No. 9 on the Billiard World Federation listing.

Vietnam’s Billiards referee Huynh Van Hiep said the event is a significant occasion for domestic players to prepare for the World Cup Billiards Carom 3 which will be held in Ho Chi Minh City in early August.

The event will run until July 26.

Int’l table tennis tournament begins in HCM City

The 29th Golden Racket table tennis championship kicked off at the Nguyen Du Gymnasium in Ho Chi Minh City on July 23, drawing Asian competitors.

The four-day event, which is one of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) tournaments, is co-hosted by the Municipal Department of Culture and Tourism, the municipal Table Tennis Federation, and Ho Chi Minh City’s The Thao (Sports) Newspaper.

This year’s competitors comprise 85 players from Asian countries and territories, including India, Hong Kong (China), Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

They vie for gold medals in the men’s and women’s single events and team events.

The three teams representing the host country include the Vietnam team, the Ho Chi Minh City team, and the Ho Chi Minh City Petrosetco Club team.

VNA